Five shot Pennsylvania officers responded to domestic call before attack

YORK COUNTY, Pa. (NewsNation) — The fatal shooting that killed three officers and injured two on a Pennsylvania farm occurred after they responded to a domestic incident where the suspect had reportedly been trespassing. 

Officers were following up on a domestic-related incident regarding suspect Matthew James Ruth when they arrived at the home where the shootout occurred on Wednesday. 

Court records showed there had been complaints that Ruth was stalking and trespassing on the property. 

The gunman exchanged fire with the officers after they arrived. He was killed after being shot by police, according to Col. Christopher Paris with the Pennsylvania State Police. 

The surviving officers were in critical condition as of Thursday afternoon. 

Witness Dave Miller said he saw the officers near a barn and then heard gunshots.

“When I passed the barn, I heard gunshots within a few minutes, and I saw an officer go down on the road, in the middle of the road. Pretty alarming,” he told NewsNation. 

One day before the shooting, police responded to the farm after a woman called authorities saying there was a “male on her property with binoculars looking into the residence through a window,” according to the affidavit of probable cause, reported WGAL. 

That male was later identified by the daughter of the woman who lived at the home as Ruth. 

The woman told police that she saw the suspect through a trail camera standing in her driveway, the outlet reported. She also told police she thought the person on the property may have arrived in a black pickup.

An officer responded to the call, but did not find the person described. The officer did see a black 2000 Ford Ranger pickup truck parked along the road, according to WGAL. 

The daughter told investigators they installed the trail cam after someone set her car on fire last month.

“She advised at the time she suspected her ex-boyfriend was the culprit, but she wasn’t sure and requested the matter not be investigated,” the affidavit states, according to the outlet. 

Upon examining the trail camera footage, police saw an AR-15–style rifle across Ruth's shoulder, the outlet reported.  

In a statement, police said the investigation will span several locations throughout York County.

“The grief will be unbearable, but we will bear it,” Paris said.

“This kind of violence isn’t OK. We need to do better as a society,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said during a news conference.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Wednesday that the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives would assist in the investigation.

“Violence against law enforcement is a scourge on our society and never acceptable. Pray for the officers involved,” she wrote.

NewsNation's Brittney Donovan and Sean Noone contributed to this story.